Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper, yay or nay?

[BabyBearsMom]

With DD1, we did not co-sleep. We had a bassinet for her in our room, which she detested (I swear, she would be sound asleep and the second I would lay her in it, she would scream). This time around, DH and I are interested in trying to co-sleep with a side car set up, like the Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper. I would really not be comfortable with the baby directly in my bed (I move a lot in my sleep and like to sleep with several pillows, so I would not feel safe with the baby in the actual bed) but thought this might be a nice compromise. I'm hoping that having me that close will make nursing easier and the warmth of my body might keep baby asleep when I lay her in the co-sleeper. Any positive or negative situations with a co-sleeper. Is it that much better than using the basinett in my PNP?

[teo]

Ours is set up as a bassinet next to the bed because it didn't work with our platform bed, but even as a bassinet I like it much better than the Pack n Play, which we use in the living room for naps. Ours is the mini and is plenty big. I'd look for a used one (or borrow one if you have friends between kids) and try it out in co-sleeper mode---if you don't like it you still have a nice bassinet.

[BabyBearsMom]

Ours is set up as a bassinet next to the bed because it didn't work with our platform bed, but even as a bassinet I like it much better than the Pack n Play, which we use in the living room for naps. Ours is the mini and is plenty big. I'd look for a used one (or borrow one if you have friends between kids) and try it out in co-sleeper mode---if you don't like it you still have a nice bassinet.

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who has it. All of my friends are very anti-co-sleeping and my sister had one but sold it. DH is very opposed to buying one used because of bed bug concerns (he won't buy anything with fabric that is used because of this, actually). It is new or nothing for us.

Why do you like it better than the PNP as a bassinet?

[hoodlims]

I don't like co-sleeping because my bed is too small and I can't sleep with a kid next to me (too anxious). I have used and will use the Arm's Reach co-sleeper. It is awesome, but doesn't like up exactly to the height of your bed. Either way, it is good to have. The mini is good if you are just using it for a short while (25lb I think, but as soon as they start pulling themselves up, you need to take them out). I have the large one, which is PnP sized (I will have to remove my nightstand to make it fit where I want), but it is a much sturdier and better made piece of furniture than the PnP.

[babyonway]

We used the Arm's reach until DD was about 3 months old and LOVED LOVED LOVED it.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

We got one for DS. he used it but not for too long, as he went to his crib (in his room, at 6 weeks)..he was a noisy sleeper, and seemed to really like his crib, so we went with that.

DD (a preemie) used the Arm's reach A LOT. She was in it until maybe 3 months?? We would have kept her in longer but she was getting too big, plus at that point she was sleeping ~6 hours at a stretch so we transitioned her to her crib at night.

Anyway, with DD, we just kept the cosleeper as a bassinet inside our room, close to our bed...we didn't attach to the bed this time. Why? Because honestly I ddidn't see the advantage of having it attached to the bed...since you have to get up anyway to get the baby out when she cries. i hated having to scoot all the way down to the end of the bed to get out (which was a lot, since with nursing i was always getting up to eat, drink something, pee, get the baby, etc). I guess one good thing of having it attached is you can always see the baby from lying down position but honestly, that wasn't a big deal to us...it's dark anyways.

Also, i'd DEFINITELY get the mini. our master bedroom is ginormous but we opted for the mini, and i'm glad. with the regular size,if you attach it to the bed you'd have to scoot all the way down to the end of the bed any time you wanted to get up (to go to the bathroom, etc)..a PITA.

anyway, i liked ours and was gonna keep it in case we had #3, but i put it on CL for $80 and someone bought it. i figured if we have #3 i will just buy it used, so much a better deal. bed bugs were not a concern at all since it doesn't really have a ton of crevices that can hang out in there..you just wash the covers (or buy new ones).

i think it's better than the PnP, because it has a higher weight limit (25 lbs, PNP in bassinet mode is only 15..my DS weighed more than that at 2 mos!). also, the "mattress" of it feels really sturdy. my DS hated the PnP bassinet because it almost felt like a swing and would move everytime he moved. Plus, the PnP is kinda big and bulky..the mini is a lot more compact, and it's rectangular so it makes more sense for a sleeping newborn.

[mjs64]

We had the universal so it would fit our very low bed. Used it for 6 months. Never had a pack n play so can't compare, but it definitely made nursing in the middle of the night as easy as I think it could be. I loved it.

[teo]

Yes, I also think it's a much sturdier piece than the Pack n Play (which is fine---they serve different functions so the PnP is light and easy to put up/take down). I also like the mini specifically because it's a smaller footprint than the PnP so having it next to our bed doesn't entail rearranging everything in the room. It's also incredibly painless to change sheets in the middle of the night---not looking forward to moving the little guy to the crib when that will be far more involved!

I can't really speak to the co-sleeper function since we don't use it that way, but based on the design it would be virtually impossible to roll over on a baby in the Arm's Reach, which I think is typically people's concern about co-sleeping---so it's a very safe way to have the baby right there. (Our bed is also too small for two adults and a baby in the bed, plus we sleep with a ton of pillows/covers that would make it unsafe for baby, so that wasn't an option.) I thought I would nurse in bed, though, and have found that the combo of bad back positioning and being overtired means it's much better if I get up and go to the nursery to do it, so I wouldn't use the co-sleeper to pull baby in and out of bed quickly for nursing (which was why I wanted it in the beginning, though now I really like it the way we use it). I do often get up to look over into the bassinet if I hear something strange (could be breathing, could be spitting up, etc.) and having the side off (= looking to see what's up without getting out from under the covers since half the time it's nothing) would definitely have been handy on that front. HTH!

[AnnieW625]

We got a Pack N Play instead of the Arms Reach. DH picked it out and he liked the PNP more than the co sleeper. I didn't care either way and the PNP has held up quite well and served it's purpose for two kids. The Co Sleeper would've been slightly a better size for our room though, but we got the $100 PNP so it worked out just fine. I loved the changing station on our PNP though, which was great for diaper changes. I don't think the Co-sleeper has that. We used the PNP as DD1's crib 24/7 until she was about 2 months old (did naps in crib in daytime starting then) and then she was in it at night until 4 months old.

DD2 wanted nothing to do with the PNP (or sleeping really) until she was about 5 months old. DD2 slept in our Vista stroller bassinet for the first 6 weeks of her life day and night and then at night at about 6 weeks slept in a crib. She slept in a Nap Nanny during the day.

[MamaInMarch]

We had one with DS and I kept him in it til he was about 7 months old. We absolutely loved it. We now have one with DD and again, best baby item I have purchased.